Entrance sign on State Route 374 in Nevada's Amargosa Valley, from Beatty and Rhyolite to Furnace Creek and Stovepipe Wells.
Death Valley National Park is the largest national park unit outside of Alaska, at 3.3 million acres. The park lies in the northwest portion of the Mojave Desert and transitional Great Basin habitats, and elevations range from 282 feet below sea level at Badwater to 11,043 feet at Telescope Peak in the Panamint Mountains. Winters can be cold, and summers famously hot, typically reaching 120 degress Fahrenheit for many days. On July 10, 1913, the United States Weather Bureau recorded a scorching 134 degrees Fahrenheit at Furnace Creek, possibly the hottest temperature observed on Earth.
Geology is incomparably revealed in this stark yet beutiful park, history and Shoshone-Paiute cultural stories are evident, and a suprising number of desert animals and wildlife make the park their home. "Superblooms" happen on rare occasions when very wet, rainy winters occur, although average rainy years can also cause excellent wildflower displays.
